Historically, this would seem like the inevitable weekend for Alex Rodriguez to somehow, someway, find his way into the spotlight. It is a Yankees-Red Sox series, a big series, a series where the Yankees come in 6[0xff] games up in the AL East and can really put away the Red Sox for good. In other words, it's a series where the story should be about the team. In the past, that's meant it almost certainly ended up being about A-Rod.

A silly comment. A bush-league play. A late-night sighting after a tough loss. Rodriguez has been there, done that on all of it, and it always felt like his missteps showed up in moments just like these.

Thing is, this year has been different. Say what you want about Rodriguez - and many, including me, have said plenty - but since he waded through the steroids disaster of spring training, he has been almost pleasantly placid. Quiet. Like he wasn't even there. In the beginning, it was because he literally wasn't there, spending weeks in Colorado rehabbing his hip. But even after he returned, and the initial surge of attention waned, Rodriguez has managed to stay out of trouble while still being the presence in the middle of the lineup that the Yankees need.

In other words, he's hit without taking hits - something new for a guy who once said, with some degree of irony, that his "whole life is about being crushed." This season it hasn't been. A-Rod deserves all the criticism he gets for his faux-confession to previous PED use, and he also deserves as much doubt as people want to give him regarding his claims that his steroid use was limited. He opened the door to questioning his abilities with that admission, and it's a door that will never be closed.

He also took criticism then, quite fairly, for how he handled the fallout. There were points during the circus that followed Sports Illustrated's initial story in which Rodriguez was taking advice from more counselors - his agent, his PR firm and a specialized crisis manager, among others - that it was impossible to believe anything he was saying wasn't pre-recorded. His level of phoniness felt like it couldn't be higher.

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At some point, though, someone - word is it was excellent Yankees PR man Jason Zillo - gave him the best advice possible: Shut up. Fade away. Just play (or words to that effect).

So he has. During home games, it is nearly impossible to find Rodriguez during the pregame. The home clubhouse is massive, and there are many players who stay out of the media-accessible areas for much of the afternoon, but most will filter into the main room for at least a moment or two. Rodriguez just stays out of sight.

When he does appear or when he does speak to reporters after games, his words are softer now. Blander. If it took this many years for A-Rod to see how Derek Jeter has mastered the art of saying nothing while saying something, so be it. It will only make things easier for him going forward.

None of this changes the big picture with A-Rod. It doesn't change the fact that the Yankees foolishly committed hundreds of millions of dollars to him well into the next decade, and it doesn't change the fact that he still hasn't shown an ability to shine in the games that count the most. That won't come until October.

All it does is make life easier for the Yankees. More palatable. In the past, whether it was the sunbathing thing or the Madonna thing or the poker thing or the stripper thing or the slap-play thing or the "ha!" thing or anything else you might be able to come up with, there was always a story with Rodriguez. Always something.

Now there is nothing. Even a romance with actress Kate Hudson hasn't become the sideshow it might have been, and all because Rodriguez has stepped aside and let the world scrutinize the rest of the freaks. You know, like Brett Favre and Michael Vick.

A few weeks ago, the Yankees played the Red Sox in another big series and swept them, winning four games and putting themselves in the commanding position they take to Fenway this weekend. During those four games, A-Rod hit two critical home runs - one on Friday night, one on Sunday.

After Friday's game, which he won in the 15th inning, he had no choice but to meet the media. So he did. Gave a few quotes. Went on his way. After Sunday's game, as reporters filed into the clubhouse, I asked a Yankees staffer if A-Rod was around.

"Nope," I was told. "He's already gone."

Can't blame him. This season - finally - he's come to realize that his play says more than enough.